Savory Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)

$3.69 recipe / $0.62 each

I know, I know, two cabbage recipes in a row? While I’m sure some of you are delighted, some might be totally “over” cabbage. But I’m all about reducing waste over here, so I needed to find a recipe to use up my leftover cabbage, carrot, and green onion from my Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry. I decided to try my hand at Okonomiyaki, or Japanese savory cabbage pancakes. What attracted me to this dish is the extreme flexibility of ingredients, which makes it a great “sweep the kitchen” recipe. And you know how I love recipes that accept whatever leftovers you might happen to have in the fridge at the time!

I didn’t buy anything special ingredients for my cabbage pancakes, instead I used all ingredients that I had on hand, and you can too. Other vegetables that would be great in these pancakes include kale, bean sprouts, radish, shredded broccoli or Brussels sprouts, or zucchini. In addition to vegetables, you can toss all sorts of meat into your pancakes. Try shrimp, canned salmon, shredded chicken or pork, or even bacon.

And that’s just what you can put IN your cabbage pancakes. Don’t even get me started with what you can put ON your pancakes. Okay, I’ll start. I kept it simple with a drizzle of sriracha mayo, sesame seeds, and sliced green onion, but you could do hoisin sauce, toasted seaweed snacks, a fried egg, bonito flakes, pickled ginger, kimchi, or anything else you like. Honestly, the toppings are where it’s at for this recipe. It’s like pizza (and sometimes called Japanese pizza). The toppings make it fun, unique, and just all around extra special.

So, what do you have in your fridge that you could put in or on a savory cabbage pancake?

TOPPINGS

Instructions

Remove any wilted leaves from the outside of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Thinly slice or shred half of the cabbage, or until you have 4-5 cups shredded cabbage. Peel the carrot and shred it using a large-holed cheese grater. Slice the green onions.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. Begin whisking in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter (about 3/4 to1 cup total flour).

Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter and stir until the vegetables are mixed and everything is evenly coated in batter.

Heat 1/2 Tbsp oil in a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture. Press it down into the hot skillet to form a circle, about 6 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Place a cover on the skillet to hold in the steam, which will help the cabbage soften as it cooks. Cook the pancake until golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes), then flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. Pile the cooked pancakes on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm until ready to eat. Add more oil to the skillet as needed as you cook the pancakes.

To prepare the sriracha mayo, mix together 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 2 Tbsp sriracha in a small bowl. Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the pancakes just before serving, followed with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced green onion.

Step by Step Photos

Begin by shredding the vegetables. You can use a food processor, mandolin, or just a knife. Just remember, the thinner the better. Shred 1/2 of a small head of cabbage (4-5 cups once shredded), 1 carrot (about 1/2 cup), and slice three green onions.

Begin whisking in flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter. You’ll need between 3/4 to 1 cup flour.

Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter, then stir until everything is well mixed and coated in batter.

Since eggs and flour both like to stick to surfaces when cooked, I highly suggest using some sort of non-stick surface in addition to the oil. I used a cast iron skillet. Heat about 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil in the skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place about 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture into the skillet. Press the mixture down to form a 6-inch circle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Place a lid on the skillet to hold in the steam (this helps soften the cabbage) and cook until it is golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes). Flip the pancake and cook on the second side until golden brown as well. I could actually fit two pancakes in this skillet, but doing one at a time made for prettier pictures. :P

To make the sriracha mayo, stir together 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 2 Tbsp sriracha.

Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the savory cabbage pancake and then top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and more sliced onion. Dig in!

106 comments on “Savory Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)”

Searching “what to do with leftover cabbage” brought me to this recipe. I love how simple it is! I added some shittake mushrooms in my batter. I am a lover of sauce as well, so dressing the pancakes in Kewpie mayo and okonomi sauce was a treat. I’ll make this one again if I have leftover cabbage!

When we get a cabbage from our CSA, it always sits in the fridge forever and my husband always wants to throw it away saying how he hates cabbage and it’s taking up all the space. Found this recipe last week and made a batch to eat for dinner through the week with stir fried chicken. Now husband says, PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER BATCH I LOVE THOSE! So we had them with an egg and some Thai sweet sauce for breakfast all week!

These are so delicious and flexible, and a great way to get rid of cabbage! And super easy to make!

Wow these were freaking delicious! I bought an extra bag of coleslaw in case I needed more for the beef and cabbage stir fry recipe. Didn’t end up needing it for that recipe but then conveniently had everything on hand that I needed to make this one! The only thing I would do differently next time is to heat up two pans since it takes a little while to make the whole batch using just one pan.

The flavor of the pancakes alone is phenomenal but the sriracha mayo take it over the top!

Nice light recipe. Easy to make and doesn’t need non-stick pan. I didn’t have sesame oil so used some tahini instead. I served it with Japanese steakhouse dressing, the recipe for which I found on another site. A keeper for using up cabbage.

These are awesome! I chopped the cabbage and carrot much finer and it worked out great. They were very light and fluffy, not dense or heavy at all. I also substituted the sesame oil for rice bran oil, and plain flour for self raising flour with no problems.

These are delicious!!! I halved the recipe and was too lazy to make the sauce, which really didn’t matter, since we ate all 12 of them as soon as each batch came out of the pan and was cool enough to handle. Thanks for an amazing recipe! We will make these again for sure, probably tomorrow. :)

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »